29 August 2025
Bilbao Campus
The Provincial of Spain of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Enric Puiggròs SJ, has appointed Fr. Jose M. Guibert Ucín SJ as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Universidad Loyola Andalucía Foundation. The former rector of Deusto, from 2013 to 2023, began his duties on 28 August, replacing Fr Jaime Oraá SJ, who was also rector of Deusto between 2003 and 2013, and who has held the post for the last six years.
The rector of Loyola University, Fabio Gómez-Estern Aguilar, on behalf of the institution, wanted to "thank Fr Oraá for his support and the important institutional work carried out since his arrival at the university in 2019" and, especially, since he took office as rector in September 2023, "in a period in which we have consolidated as an institution, while at the same time facing the challenges posed by an increasingly complex and competitive university environment both in Andalusia and on the national and international scene".
He also welcomed "the new chair of the Board of Trustees of the Loyola Andalucía University Foundation, at a time of intense work with the start of the new academic year in which he can count on his guidance and collaboration with the entire management team, so that Loyola University continues to fulfil its apostolic mission of training the best people for the world".
José Mº Guibert
José Mª Guibert was born in Azpeitia (Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain), birthplace of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, in 1962, and has been a Jesuit since 1982. He holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering (1996) from the University of the Basque Country and has been a full professor at the University of Deusto since 2001 and a full professor since 2006. His education also includes the following qualifications: Industrial Engineer from the University of Navarra; Bachelor of Theology from the Faculty of Theology of the University of Deusto; Bachelor of Theology from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, as well as an MBA in Higher Education Management from the Institute of Education, University of London.
Fr Guibert has developed his professional career in the Higher Education sector, as a teacher, researcher and university manager. At the University of Deusto, where his work has been more extensive, he was a lecturer in the Department of Industrial Technologies (1995-2023), vice-rector of the San Sebastian Campus (2003-2008) and rector (2013-2023).
After completing his term as Rector, he served as a professor in the prestigious Gasson Chair at Boston College (MA, USA) from 2023 to 2024, the year he joined Comillas Pontifical University as a lecturer in Ignatian Leadership. As author or co-author he has dozens of publications in diverse fields ranging from business and industry to ethics and Ignatian leadership, among others.
Fr Guibert SJ has also been a member of boards or trustees in various institutions such as Unibasq, ANECA, Basque Council of Universities, Council of Universities, Gondra Barandiarán Foundation, Vicente Mendieta Foundation, Alboan Foundation, Jakiunde, UNIJES, ACM, CRUE, Advantere or Universia, among others.
In the Society of Jesus, he was also the coordinator of the Loyola Province Project from 2008 to 2013. Guibert, who also becomes Chair of the ETEA Foundation, the Development Institute of Universidad Loyola, has experience as a development worker in several countries (Venezuela, the Philippines, and El Salvador), where he has contributed to implementing various projects aimed at improving the lives of local communities.
